


Stay Another Day

by Jamjar88



Category: Nirvana (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Co-workers, F/M, Fluff, Grunge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28369131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jamjar88/pseuds/Jamjar88
Summary: Silly Xmas fluff request I got on Tumblr as part of the 12 Days of Ficmas!
Relationships: Kurt Cobain/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Stay Another Day

“OK, Nina, you’re gonna be on the Enchanted Railway today. Kurt, um-“ Our supervisor, Carrie, looked up over her glasses kind of dubiously at Kurt, who was standing in the back rolling a cigarette. “Kurt, you’ll be on the Frog Hopper.”

“Fuck,”he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, and some of the other guys cracked up. 

Carrie was not impressed. “What’s that?”

“Uh, just I, um. Kind of bust my hand. I don’t think I can like, operate the Frog Hopper today.” Kurt kind of vaguely waved his hand, which was almost hidden by the sleeve of his too-big Enchanted Village fleece jacket. “You’re gonna have to re-assign me.”

I could see some of the others looking around, not exactly thrilled at that prospect. Kurt was the awkward long-haired guy who always had a sarcastic remark or a bad joke, and he hadn’t shown a lot of interest in making friends. I kind of suspected that he wasnt as much of a Scrooge as he tried to make out, and something about him made me wonder, but he always clammed up around me in the break room, putting on headphones and playing loud angry music on his Walkman as he scribbled in a notebook. He didnt even join in with the three-times-per-day singalong of "Holly Jolly Christmas” in the Enchanted Square, which was pretty much mandatory. I didn’t get why he’d taken a job at the Enchanted Village over the holiday season, if he hated fun so much.

For me, this was kind of the perfect job, right down to the cute elf costume I got to wear when I was taking kids to see Santa on the Enchanted Railway. I loved it; the corny Christmas music piped through the whole park, the ramshackle old fairytale houses and Pirate Ship ride decked out in flickering old string lights. I’d get lumpy hot cocoa on my break and take it all in. It was my favorite time of year.

“Hmm, well-“ Carrie looked at her clipboard doubtfully. “OK, then you can drive the Enchanted Railway with Nina.”

I stared at her, then at Kurt. Some of the others were giggling. 

“You’ll need an elf costume, though,”she said, smiling thin-lipped at Kurt. I almost laughed too, because she clearly had one hell of a sense of humor. “Nina, you can go help Kurt pick one out from the costume department.”

Kurt was staring very hard at the ground, like he wanted it to swallow him up. But when he looked up, at me, his icy blue eyes were crinkled with silent laughter. “Let’s go,”he said, a smile tugging at his lips. “I’m ready.”

“And remember everyone. The enchantment never ends, here at the Enchanted Village,”Carrie said, monotone. 

I could tell everybody was looking at me and Kurt as we walked, but I didnt want to make it weird. Maybe he was just shy. We walked down the Enchanted Street, past the Enchanted Pizza Parlour and the Enchanted Gift Shop, towards the costume department, which was really just a shed with a rusty padlock that was full of musty costumes, Christmas elves, witches and werewolves for Halloween, bunnies for Easter, all that good stuff. We weren't saying anything. The sound of sleigh bells was piping around us out of the speakers, and I suddenly had this rush of excitement for Christmas, they said it might even snow tomorrow. 

I saw Kurt was about to light his roll-up, and I said, “Oh, we can’t smoke around the costumes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh. You know where the Enchanted Smoking Area is?”

I laughed, it took me by surprise. He was kind of funny. “We need to get changed.”

He nodded, shoved the cigarette in his fleece pocket. I unlocked the combination on the costume shed and we went in, coughing a little at the dust bunnies. I went over to the Christmas rack and looked through them, taking a look at Kurt. He was kind of small and skinny. Nothing seemed like it would work, honestly; the little pointed elf hat on top of his long, stringy blond hair? The thought made me giggle. 

He looked at me. “What?”

“Oh, uh - nothing. Just trying to find something for you.”

Kurt fingered one of the outfits on the rack, thoughtfully. “How ‘bout this?”

I looked over and shook my head, confused. “That’s Princess Starlight. She only comes out on July Fourth,”i said, authoritatively. He grinned.

“Is that right?”

“I wanna be her next year,”I said. “I think I’d be pretty good.”

“I’m telling you, I’d look hot in that dress,”Kurt said, standing against the dirty window with his arms crossed. “But I guess, maybe, you would too.”

I tried not to blush. “Um- so.” I pulled a reindeer outfit off the rack. It was like, a furry bodysuit with a big reindeer head and a nose that lit up, once upon a time. Kurt stared at it, shaking his head slowly.

“You could try it,”i said. “It looks cozy, anyway.”

He chuckled, still kind of disbelieving. “You serious?”

“It’s that, or Santa’s Little Helper.”

“Fuck it, I’ll be Rudolph.” Kurt came over and took the suit off me, kind of holding it away from him. “Thanks.” He headed out to change in the bathrooms and I took my elf outfit to go get ready too. We both walked out at the same time, and cracked up at the sight of each other.

“You look-“

“Careful,”Kurt said, grinning kind of shyly. “Today’s my last day, I could just quit right now.”

“You look great,”I said, although to be honest it was hilarious to see this little grungy guy dressed up in a furry reindeer outfit. “Ready to go to the North Pole?”

“You really talk like that?”he said, as we walked over to the Enchanted Railway. I blushed, but I knew he was just teasing. I shivered a little, my costume wasn’t really as warm as the reindeer get-up, and we weren’t allowed to wear jackets. There was already a line starting outside the ride, pink cheeked little kids talking excitedly about Santa. Kurt stared at them, in kind of abject horror, and I nudged him as I said loudly, “Come on, Rudolph! Let’s get ready for our trip to see Santa Claus!”

“Sure,”he mumbled, and I tried not to laugh again. He was definitely awkward, but there was something cute about him. Our job was to let kids on the ride and then sit up front and press the button that drove us in a loop around the Santa Village, covered in fake plastic snow. I decided to let Kurt go sit upfront, he wasn’t exactly selling the experience to the kiddos, and when we were loaded up I called, “All aboard!”and got in next to him, kind of glad of the warmth of his fur costume next to me considering how cold it was.

“Y’know I took this job for a dare,”Kurt said, quietly, and I smiled. “It’s true,”he said, fiddling with the fake plastic steering wheel. “Needed a job, but… my buddy Krist dared me to work here and steal a piece of treasure from the Pirate Lagoon.”

“That’s some commitment. Did you?”

He shook his head, the floppy antlers on his costume waving around. “Never got the chance.”

“Bummer,”I said.

“Pretty much been the longest four weeks of my life, too.”

“Really? I love it here!” My face lit up, I couldnt help it. “It just gets you in a holiday mood. You don’t think?”

Kurt looked at me, and smiled. “Guess I hate Christmas.”

“Don’t ever say that.” I put a hand over his mouth, then realised it was a kind of forward thing to do, and took it away quickly. He was looking at me, still smiling. “Uh - sorry.”

The train passed by a fake snowman, waving mechanically at us. Kurt waved back, solemnly. 

“So, you live in Seattle?”I said.

“Yeah, I moved here a couple months back for my band.”

“Oh, cool.” The hair and clothes and general attitude kind of made more sense now. “What kind of band?”

“A really lame kind,”he said, drily.

“I went to see Heart in summer. It was so good,”I said, eagerly. “I love their stuff.”

“Huh,”he said, not showing a lot of enthusiasm. “That’s kind of - different.”

“I always wanted to play a musical instrument, but I’m a total klutz,”i said, smiling as we went past the cute little Santa grotto, even if the mechanical Santa was super creepy in all honesty. “So awesome that you have a band.”

“Yeah,”he said, nonchalant. “Thanks.”

I shivered a little as a breeze rustled through the trees. 

“You cold?”he said. I nodded, and he moved a little closer, his body skinny but warm under the fur. Somehow it wasn’t awkward. I actually kind of liked him. He wasn’t like some of the jerks who worked here, who were always trying to outdo each other on the lame basketball hoop stalls, or trying to hook up with the girls on staff. I suddenly felt a pang, remembering he said it was his last day. I wanted to get to know him better. And the way he kept brushing my arm accidentally-on-purpose, or looking at me…

“So, last day tomorrow?”I said. “You should stay another day. Day after tomorrow is the staff party.”

He didn’t look too convinced, so I carried on. “Could be the perfect opportunity to sneak off and steal a piece of treasure from the Pirate Lagoon.”

He glanced at me. “You kind of don’t strike me as the rule breaking type.”

I held his eye contact, smiling. “Maybe I am.” I felt this weird spark between us, out of nowhere. How about that.

“Does the party have like, booze?”he asked. 

We were coming to the end of the ride. I giggled, shushed him. “Unofficially, yes. When the guests have gone home.”

“OK, but do I have to wear this outfit?”he said.

“I think it suits you.” I jumped up and got out of the front cab, Kurt getting out after me. He looked so funny that I wished I had a camera, to capture that expression of pure apathy on his antler-ed face. 

“Did you guys have fun?!”I said to the kids as I herded them out, ready for the next lot. I could feel Kurt was watching me with that slightly confused little smile, and I couldn’t help feeling warm inside. Maybe there was a little holiday magic in the Enchanted Village after all, if this frog was gonna turn into my prince. 

“I guess I could stay another day,”he said, fidgeting with his costume sleeves. “You could help me complete my mission.”

“Good!”I said, the sound of _Let it Snow_ wafting over the tinny speakers behind us. Already feeling kind of weirdly excited about the party in a couple days. “Let’s steal you some pirate treasure.”

“You’re a trip,”Kurt said, shaking his head. But he was smiling. 

I loaded the next lot of kids in the train then we got back in the front cab, even closer this time.

“So tell me about your band,”I said.”What are you called?”

“The Enchanted Trio,”Kurt said, deadpan. I nudged him. “Nah,”he said. “Nirvana.”

“I like the Enchanted Trio better,”I said.

“Yeah, me too. I’ll let ‘em know.”

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…_

The night of the party, after Carrie had given out the staff Christmas gift (a small candy cane each, cracked and suspiciously sticky), they turned up the Christmas music even louder and people drank weak wine coolers while trying to hook up with the same co-workers they'd spent the last six weeks of the season trying to avoid. 

As the night drew in over the trees Kurt came up behind me, trailing the faint smell of cigarette smoke, and said in my ear, “OK, can we split now?” It kind of thrilled me, I don’t know why, and I nodded, as we snuck past the gift shop through to the Pirate Lagoon attraction where the spotlights glimmered over the slimy green water, shining on the piles of fool’s gold on the little island at the center. 

This was crazy, probably the craziest thing i’d ever done, but I couldnt help giggling as Kurt gave me a leg over the fence and then climbed over, landing heavily on his ankles- “Shit, that hurt”. 

“So you gonna swim there?”i said, looking at the island, doubtfully. It was definitely further than it looked. All this for a bet? “It looks kind of cold.”

Kurt looked at it too, then at me. He was smiling. He had such a great smile. 

“Uh, I was kind of bullshitting you. There’s no way I’m getting on that island.”

“What?!”I said, confused.

“I thought maybe I could do this, though,”Kurt said. And then, hesitantly, he stepped closer, and kissed me, softly, on the lips. 

Surprised was not the word - and when he pulled away I stared at him, bug-eyed. 

“Um - what was-“

“I’m sorry,”he said. “Was that-“

“No,”i said, shaking my head. “It was, um - fine.”

We both chuckled, and then he pulled me in for another kiss, the gold gleaming in the corner of my still-open eyes as around us everything seemed to fade away, even the sound of the cheesy Christmas tunes. 

“Sorry it took me six weeks to do that,”he said, shaking his head, almost shyly. “Thanks for not pushing me in the Lagoon.”

“Well, it is Christmas,”I said, smiling. 

“Fuck, really?” Kurt motioned around, at the corny decorations and lights. “I didn’t know.”

I stepped forward, slightly nervous, and kissed him again. I didn’t know what it was, but there was just something about this guy.

“Yeah. It definitely is.”


End file.
